The chargesheet in the Vismaya suicide case filed before the Sasthamcotta Judicial Magistrate Court on Friday says the 24-year-old ended her life due to constant harassment over dowry. The chargesheet, running into nearly 500 pages, was submitted by Sasthamcotta DySP P.Rajkumar.
Vismaya’s husband Kiran Kumar has been charged under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 304 (B), 498 (A) , 306, 323 and 506, for dowry death, inflicting physical or mental harm, abetment to suicide, voluntarily causing hurt, and criminal intimidation.
G. Mohanraj, who earlier appeared in the controversial Uthra murder case, is the Special Public Prosecutor. The prosecution has a list of 102 witnesses, 98 documents, and 56 exhibits.
The investigation was led by District Police Chief (Kollam Rural) K.B Ravi under the supervision of Harshita Attaluri, Inspector General of Police, South Zone.
“The accused tested positive for COVID-19 after his arrest on 22 June. The investigating team got his custody for very few days due to this, but we could submit the report within 80 days,” said an official.
According to the chargesheet, the accused expected more dowry since he was a government employee. He was also not happy with the car Vismaya’s family gifted him as he wanted a more expensive model. The chargesheet says Vismaya was subjected to brutal emotional and physical abuse, which eventually drove her to suicide.
Kiran Kumar had repeatedly complained that the dowry he received was not good enough and on several occasions he had openly expressed his resentment.
Despite Vismaya telling her husband that she is contemplating suicide to evade his harassment, he kept pressuring her. The chargesheet says that despite knowing this Kiran Kumar continued his abuse, forcing his wife to take the extreme step.
During investigation, the police retrieved digital evidence which clearly states Vismaya was facing dowry harassment and domestic violence. Her WhatsApp chats with friends and relatives, pictures and videos showing injuries and bruises inflicted by her husband, and messages to Kiran Kumar’s sister seeking help are part of the evidence. She had also contacted a psychologist in Ernakulam, revealing her condition during the session.
